Certification Updates

District of Columbia to Host Free Financial Planning Day

Oct 15, 2012

Dozens of local Financial Planners Will Offer Free Advice on Budgeting, Retirement Planning, Income Taxes, Investment Strategies, and More

We’ve all heard that there’s no free lunch, but in these challenging economic times, residents in the Metro Washington area will be able to get free financial planning advice and guidance from professional financial planners at Metro Washington Financial Planning Day. The event will be held on October 27 at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus in Washington and will feature highly qualified CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals and experts from the Financial Planning Association®, all volunteering their time and expertise to work with local residents one-on-one to address important financial issues.

Financial planners will be set up at their own tables to meet one-on-one with attendees to answer questions on getting out of debt, retirement planning, investment strategies, income taxes, insurance, mortgages and foreclosures, among many other topics. The advice will be offered on a “no strings attached” basis and planners will not give out business cards or sell financial products or services.

The event will also feature a series of classroom-style educational workshops addressing key personal finance topics, including: Budgeting 101, Real World Retirement Planning, Investing Basics and Financial Planning for Young Professionals.

Metro Washington Financial Planning Day is organized by the District of Columbia and Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, in partnership with the Financial Planning Association, Foundation for Financial Planning, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The event is part of Financial Planning Days – a groundbreaking initiative involving city governments and thousands of financial planners nationwide united in an effort to provide free financial education and programming to communities throughout the U.S.

TO PARTICIPATE: Metro Washington Financial Planning Day is free and open to the public. Members of the news media are invited to attend the event and interview the organizers. The event will be held on Saturday, October 27 at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus (Bell Multicultural High School), located at 3101 16th St NW in Washington, DC. Events will begin at 11:00 am and will run until 4:00 pm. The venue is conveniently located just one block from the Columbia Heights Metro Station.

About CFP Board
The mission of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) is to benefit the public by granting the CFP® certification and upholding it as the recognized standard of excellence for personal financial planning. The Board of Directors, in furthering CFP Board's mission, acts on behalf of the public, CFP® professionals and other stakeholders. CFP Board owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. CFP Board currently authorizes more than 67,000 individuals to use these marks in the U.S. For more information about CFP Board, visit www.CFP.net or call 800-487-1497.

About the Financial Planning Association
The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) is the largest membership organization for personal financial planning experts in the U.S. and includes professionals from all backgrounds and business models. FPA members adhere to the highest standards of professional competence, ethical conduct and clear, complete disclosure to those they serve. Based in Denver, Colo., FPA works in alliance with academic leaders, legislative and regulatory bodies, financial services firms and consumer interest organizations. For more information about FPA, visit www.FPAnet.org or call 800.322.4237.

About Foundation for Financial Planning
The mission of the Foundation for Financial Planning is to help people take control of their financial lives by connecting the financial planning community with people in need. The Foundation funds programs that provide pro bono financial planning, and connect volunteers through the involvement of the financial planning and services community. The Foundation strives to help people who are underserved by the market, in need of financial guidance, or in a financial crisis. The Foundation aims to improve the lives of all Americans through access to pro bono financial planning and financial life skills education to provide those at all socio-economic levels with the knowledge to control their financial lives and opportunities to obtain unbiased financial advice in time of crisis and disaster. For more information about the Foundation for Financial Planning, visit www.foundation-finplan.org.

About The U.S. Conference of MayorsThe U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,204 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. More information about the Conference is available at www.usmayors.org.